Document text
0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Agencies set summit to update public on water supply Medical marijuana doctor specializes in older patients Two named to Ashland Citizen Budget Committee Rewarding work Historian presents intimate accounts of Modoc War Education Southern Orgon University Provost Klein retiring Race with the sun Environment Bacteria warning issued for Ashland Creek in Lithia Park OR-7 pups look well in new photos GMO mobiles Business Crepe crusader Politics and elections State News Nation - World Obituaries Harold Robert �Bob� Case Death Notices Death Notices Earl Craker Death Notices Sports Latest Stories Medford pounds 22 hits in first-round win over Alaska SOU women's soccer team ranked fourth in preseason poll Carlson makes the most of return Southern Oregon No. 3 in CCC poll Rogues take down Gems High school Southern Oregon University SOU women's soccer team ranked fourth in preseason poll Southern Oregon No. 3 in CCC poll Raiders hold first practice of 2014 school year Raiders No. 3 in Frontier Conference preseason poll Opinion Latest Stories Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor Letter at Length Letters to the Editor Editorial Letters Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor Letter at Length Letters to the Editor Guest opinions Republicans and the politics of cognitive dissonance Revels Latest Stories At the Movies 'A Most Wanted Man' is full of complexities 'On the Fly' Daedalus Project 2014 Music, wellness focus of Peace Village Festival Theater Daedalus Project 2014 Randall Theatre opens 'Godspell' 'The Great Society' at OSF Impro Theater at OSF Green Shows 'Family Album' at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Music 'On the Fly' Live 'on the bricks' Sweet Ghosts at Oberon's Tavern Days N' Daze at Club 66 Synrgy at Lounge South Visual Art First Friday art walk in Ashland Friday art walk in Ashland Movies 'A Most Wanted Man' is full of complexities At the Movies Not original, but it's nice Tables Turned in 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' At the Movies Food and Drink Coquina Restaurant Lifestyle Latest Stories Historian presents intimate accounts of Modoc War Denis Arndt The scene of the crime Peace: An inward passage Exhibit features diverse sculptures Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries NEWS NOW LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor Ashland's summer water system is unfair DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Aug. 6, 2014 @ 2:00 am Posted Aug. 6, 2014 @ 2:00 am » Social News Ashland's summer water system is unfair Your front page news story, "Ashland saves water," does not mention the sacrifice made by homeowners whose property is in drought on the north end of Ashland. As a result of the Talent Irrigation Ditch water being diverted for drinking water, the north ditch is dry and no irrigation water runs in our lines. While Southern Oregon University is a lush green and the median strip on Siskiyou Boulevard is well watered, to say nothing about Lithia Park, we're trying to save our plants by making use of city drinking water. Our automatic irrigation system is useless without ditch water. We drag hoses to keep plants alive along a 300-foot, flag-lot driveway and a landscaped yard. At age 85, this isn't easy. The current system is not fair. We're using much less water in the house by not flushing toilets and collecting shower water in buckets. This doesn't make up for the drinking water we must use outside. Even then, we wait until leaves wilt, turn yellow or drop off. If the city has the ability to install a 24-inch pipeline over several miles, isn't there enough engineering skill to fairly distribute the available ditch water — say alternating weekly the areas that receive water? Maybe something can be done, and if not, an explanation given us other than that we're just unlucky to be at the end of the line. Maybe the Daily Tidings would want to tell the whole story. Bert Anderson Ashland 'Proportionality' meaning varies I studied the editorial in Tuesday's Daily Tidings by Dore Gold ("How can Israel defend itself without being accused of the principle of proportionality?") as part of my continuing effort to locate an informing humanitarian perspective that I can trust. Such an effort is clouded by physical distance, by intricacies in the conflict's long history, by the legalese of U.N. resolutions, and is especially vexed by the need to read between the lines in order to define the bias of any writer. The devil is lodged deep in the details. Glossing Gold's long piece is impractical, but sharp focus on key sentences underscores the way trenchant phrasing can subvert a reader's trust. The heart of the editorial is the paragraph beginning "It should be recalled that proportionality in international law has a very specific meaning. It refers to the calculation a military commander must make as to whether the military advantage to be gained by the use of force is greater than the probable harm that may be inflicted on the surrounding civilian population." From these two sentences the conclusion is drawn that any objection to this reading obliges an opposing party to find a different, "exact" solution. The "very specific meaning" is not found in any of the prime commentators on the principle of proportionality — in Europe or in American law schools, in the "fair" and "just" concepts of the Rome or Geneva protocols — and indeed situates Gold's definition on the margin. Samuel Estreicher at NYU Law School comes as close as anyone to even-handedly defining mutual responsibility of IDF and Palestinians. But the most intriguing view that I can find comes from Amichai Cohen at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (of which Gold is president) on "Proportionality in Modern Wars." There he approaches Gold's take but with all due diligence: "Yet a third approach may (emphasis added) be more suitable "¦." In that context, the commander must weigh targeting an enemy against collateral damage to innocent people; but the wide array of subordinate, necessary cautions gives the decision to strike, destroy and kill the thoughtfulness demanded by this tragedy. Robert Griffin Ashland DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Aug. 6, 2014 @ 2:00 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2014 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Local Media Group Publications Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. DailyTidings.com | P.O. Box 1108, Medford, OR 97501